帝

dì
noun #6,831

Meanings

  1. 1 emperor; supreme ruler
  2. 2 god (in classical Chinese)

Examples

HSK 5
Dìguó shídài yǐjīng jiéshù le.
The age of empires has ended.
HSK 7-9
Qín Shǐhuáng shì Zhōngguó de dìyī gè huángdì.
Qin Shi Huang was the first emperor of China.

Tips

usage
帝 is in 皇帝 (emperor), 帝国 (empire), 上帝 (God). In gaming, 帝国时代 is 'Age of Empires'.

Components

radical
巾 jīn
cloth; towel
Bottom cloth radical (Kangxi #50) - also 帝's indexing radical. Originally a ritual cloth hung at the altar; in the imperial extension, the cloth-banner of the supreme being who receives sacrifice. Same radical anchors 师, 帮, 帽 - cloth-and-banner family.
semantic
立 lì
to stand; to set up
Top - historically read as a stylised altar or sacrificial bundle, but visually the upper 6 strokes form a 立-like silhouette (standalone 立 has 5 strokes; here 1-stroke expansion absorbs an extra horizontal). The 'standing on a base' image fits the etymology - bound stalks tied to a ritual stand.

Stroke Order

帝 dì